WhiskeyFest shows innovation is spirited

Van Winkle is a fabled Kentucky name that produces one of the world's most expensive and coveted bourbons, Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve. PHOTO COURTESY OLD RIP VAN WINKLE DISTILLERY

How can I describe the feeling that swept over me as I entered the massive Yerba Buena Ballroom inside San Francisco's Marriott Marquis Hotel and gazed upon 78 booths offering more than 300 of the world's finest whiskies?

“Like a kid in a candy store” seems inappropriate, but heck, that's how most of my fellow whiskey lovers were behaving as they stampeded in when the doors opened at 6:30 p.m. For this crowd, the seventh annual WhiskeyFest was Christmas, the Fourth of July and a Stones concert rolled into one.

“Have you ever seen a Scotsman cry?” one kilt-wearing man asked another in an accent that sounded more New York than Old Country.

There were plenty of reasons to be excited. Some rare and impressive names were present from Scotland, Ireland and America: Usquaebach, one of Scotland's oldest distilleries, whose blended Highland scotch has been landing plenty of medals in recent years; Bruichladdich, a renowned Islay single malt Scotch maker; Van Winkle, a fabled Kentucky name that produces one of the world's most expensive and coveted bourbons, Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve.

The lineup was a snapshot of an industry in transition. Huge and venerable labels such as Canadian Club, Dewar's, Crown Royal, Jameson, Jim Beam, Cutty Sark, Macallen and Johnnie Walker shared equal space with newcomers who represent the cutting edge of the craft distilling movement.

Among the most interesting of the latter was FEW Spirits of Evanston, Ill. “We're trying to break into the wider market,” said the man from FEW as he poured quarter-ounce sips of his company's offerings: American gin, bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey and white whiskey. “It's kind of strange to be here with the big boys,” he added, looking around.

FEW goes for robust, unusual flavors. Its gin was almost overly aromatic and strangely whiskey-colored, and its rye is nothing like the austere product made for decades by the big Canadian distilleries. It's full of oaky, sweet notes and boasts a long, full finish that shifts intriguingly as it decays. FEW buys its grains, aromatic ingredients and everything else as locally as possible in the upper Midwest. Its winter wheat comes from Minnesota. “That's as far away as we get,” the man at the FEW booth said.

I tasted other “new” ryes from American craft distillers that came off the same way – full of personality, including the pronounced vanilla undertone delivered by new American oak casks. People seemed to like them.

Perhaps that's why the two representatives at the Canadian Club booth looked so lonely. Their old-fashioned blended rye is as out of date as a big-finned Cadillac. CC is trying to appeal to the hipster demographic with fruit-flavored whiskeys – I tasted something called Dock 57 that was infused with blueberries – but the idea doesn't seem like a winner.

Among the smaller Scotch producers, I was impressed with Usquaebach. “We've been in the U.S. for about five years, but we're new to the West Coast,” said the rep. “We're getting big in New York, New Jersey and D.C.” San Francisco and Chicago are the next rollout markets.

Usquaebach is more than 200 years old, and its current American owners plan to keep the product unchanged – blended Highland whiskeys that range from $33 to $86 per bottle. Their best was a richly layered treat with a ton of black pepper on the finish.

“We're privately owned,” said the Usquaebach rep. “A lot of the (small Scotch distilleries) are being snapped up by Diageo, Suntory and the other huge multinationals who want to change them and maximize profit. We're keeping things pretty much as they always were.”

I skipped the Scottish peat-smoke monster, Laphroaig, in favor of another Chicago-area craft distillery, Koval.

“We do organic and kosher, and we follow locavore practices,” said the intricately tattooed young woman pouring Koval's best. I suspected I wouldn't hear that speech from the Johnnie Walker people.

I was impressed by the delicate yet forward flavors in Koval's rye, and its bourbon was, in a word, classy: big, rounded, complex, a poem in a cup.

“Please, everyone, visit our buffet tables,” the WhiskeyFest announcer pleaded over the PA system, and it seemed like a good idea. After an hour of tasting, I was beginning to understand the reason for the four platforms overflowing with food, and the frequent seminar opportunities. At a whiskey festival, too much of a good thing can be life-threatening.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.